half a decade and some projects

today marks the 5th year since gian and i became a couple. wow, half a decade. it might not seem like such a mean feat especially if pitted against couples who have been together for decades. i've been with my current company much longer than we've been together. but it's a milestone for us. it hasn't always been perfect and we've had our share of joys and heartaches but i can only be grateful. i also pray that the coming years will be kind to us and we grow closer and together as we work towards our dreams.
anyway, enough of the cheese. i have several projects that i want to share. as you might have surmised from the lack of updates here, i haven't been able to commit to my one project a day - who knew creating tags could be exhausting. i have been participating in some local swaps after my first tag swap. there was a smash book swap, another tag swap and an atc swap. here are my projects.


for the smash book swap, my swap partner requested for either a shabby chic or travel-themed smash book. i had so much fun creating the shabby chic smash book, i decided to create a travel-themed one as well.

the next swap i participated in was a tag swap and i suggested the alice in wonderland theme. i already worked on a friend's baby shower with the same theme but alice in wonderland seemed like an inexhaustible source of inspiration and this time, i wanted to play with muted tones. the papers i used varied because i had to create 14 tags and i only had limited quantities of the designs. but most of the elements were consistent across the tags - a stamped sentiment saying imagine or believe, a clock, a drink me potion, teacups and a quote from the book tucked in a small envelope. 

a friend who got married last saturday asked for my help to create the table numbers and the sponsors' place cards and i happily obliged. my photoshop skills are minimal to non-existent but i'm happy how these turned out.

yesterday i finished my atc's for the latest swap i joined - an atc swap with the theme it's more fun in the philippines. i bought these filipiniana stamps from papemelroti a few months back and when i saw the theme, i knew these stamps would be perfect. for the fiesta banners, i used washi tape i purchased from hey kessy. i will be sending these out next week and hopefully the people in my group will like them.

anyway, that's all from my end. hubby and i are off to hk tomorrow for a much-needed break. when i get back i will be working on the baptismal party of a friend's daughter. or should i say my goddaughter? have a great week ahead everyone. 

of tags and terrariums

i've had a fascination for terrariums for a while now and have attempted to create something that captures the essence of containing a world in a jar. this series is one of those attempts. this will probably be my last tag series in a while and i'm still trying to figure out my next project and theme for my year of creativity project.

i have a friend's baby shower coming up and i will be sharing my projects for that. i'm also working on several projects now - a layout, a calendar for a friend and probably a mini-album as well. i'm calling it a week and my weekend will officially start in a few minutes. so i hope you enjoy the tags and more importantly, your weekend.

jan. 29: a world in a jar

jan. 30: grow a garden

jan. 31: memories from paris...and a wedding


feb. 1: carte postale...postcards and bird cages

feb. 2: unlock the door to possibilities

feb. 3: more paris love

feb. 4: it begins and ends with worlds in a jar

tags, swaps and washi tape

so here i am finally with my long overdue update. i am sharing my second batch of tags although i am so behind on my year of creativity project - 21 tags, 0 layouts and 0 albums. i am rethinking the one tag/project a day to one tag/project a week. i always seem to be exhausted from work that after dinner, i can barely keep my eyes open and i just head straight to bed. but that's something that i need to mull over. in the meantime, hope you enjoy the tags.

january 22: love is in the air

january 23: all dressed up

january 24: love is in the air

january 25: dreams and dress forms

january 26: birthday tag...all my favorite things

january 27: gears and dreams

january 28: love letter

biting off more than i can chew

during the past year, i've been overwhelmed by the joy of accumulating new things that i actually forgot about what drew me to this hobby in the first place - the joy of creating. i am trying to cut down on the shopping but i also wanted to purposely make time for crafting - to use up my stash but also to be able to breathe and recharge. i think for me, art has become as necessary as food and sleep.i find this quote so apt especially during this season in my life - art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

i dubbed my project a year of creativity and at the end of the year, i wanted to be able to create 366 projects (tags, cards, canvas, etc), 100 layouts and 12 albums. so far, i've made around 14 tags. i've not yet decided what to do with them, probably use them on other projects or with gifts.

i have not been very diligent in posting my progress here in my blog but i have been creating albeit not as regularly as i hoped i would. however, i have been posting updates through my twitter account in case you are interested in following me and my attempt to infuse more creativity in my life.crafting and creating breaks, quiet time and blogging are some of the activities i have to integrate in my daily routine.

anyway, without further ado, here are my tags for the first week. let me know what you think. enjoy the week ahead everyone.

week 1

january 1: a fabulous day, a fabulous year

january 2: because it still feels like christmas

january 3: never too late for a garden, there's always time to learn and be happy

january 4: why hello there mother and child

january 5: the road to toledo

january 6: all my favorite things...flowers, birds and birdcages

january 7: all dressed up

a snapshot

of my craft corner during one of its"better" days. someone said that clutter is a sign that creativity is brewing, or at least there is some sort of activity going on, that things are actually getting done. i suppose i can take comfort in that but the disarray bothers me.

i like looking at a clean workspace, the kind that you see featured in magazines. but that is so far from the truth, at least for me. most of the time, i usually work on just one project, and even then, my area seems like it's been hit by a tornado.

when we moved in almost a year ago, the space was evenly split between me and hubby. today, he remarked how my stuff had taken over most of the space.

hubby was sick this weekend so i didn't get much scrapping done, except for a few cards, one of which i will give to a friend who celebrated his birthday last friday. i also started working on a simple album for a friend who is here for a short vacation. i was supposed to make one before she left but i didn't have time so i'm making one now. i hope i finish it before thursday. i will try to take pictures and share it here. i still have one album i completed that i haven't shared here. 

the weekend is almost over and once again, i feel as if the past two days are not enough for me to get some rest. anyway, i'll try to complete what i can for my friend's album. 

yes, it's another mini

this mini-album was created for the maya road challenge over at two peas. i used the maya road birdhouse chipboard mini and pink paislee's butterfly garden collection. i love this collection and i can't wait to create another project with this. enjoy the rest of the week. 

there's a storm coming

...and i have layouts pouring in. the first two layouts were completed in the span of a day and the last two, i was just too lazy to take pictures of. i also have an album i will be posting pictures of. stay tuned.